


Pea Bedding

by lover_of_blue_roses



Series: Freddie Weekend [1]
Category: Bohemian Rhapsody (Movie 2018), Queen (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Freddie Mercury Weekend 2020, Gen, Temptation, brian's soul being barginned, devil!freddie, human!may
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-05
Updated: 2020-06-05
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:21:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,799
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24558352
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lover_of_blue_roses/pseuds/lover_of_blue_roses
Summary: Brian is thought to be pure of heart but a devil tests this claim.
Series: Freddie Weekend [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1775053
Comments: 10
Kudos: 16
Collections: Freddie Mercury Weekend 2020!





	Pea Bedding

**Author's Note:**

> The writing style is a little extra and unnecessary but counterargument 1)It's what Freddie would want 2) It's not like I write all my stories like this, this is just a fun little different thing

Brian does his best to keep the children quiet in the hopes that they can escape the slaughter by hiding silently. Neither violence nor the heat of the rampaging fire have reached them yet. He is extremely fearful for his and everyone else's safety but for once he finds that his anxious nature is helping him, as he knows how to mask his terror and present only a calm, collected front to the children. 

He sings slowly as they all cower in the back of the church, behind casks of wine in the small alcove that is the transept chapel. Yet he fears it is only a matter of time until they are found, and then... well, he can be brave and use his body as their last defense, although he duly realises that would do little against-

His mind dares not name the enemy, for surely his eyes deceive him in his terror. Beings that barely looked like humans; tall, unnaturally tall, with skin like stone, and eyes but far more than two. Brian had seen very little, too busy running as soon as the alarm bell rang. But what he had seen-! They'd had animal-like traits, the legs of cattle or cats, wings, tails, or even horns. Surely, these can be no natural creatures.

But as Brian has known for all of his life, he can find no answers in this house of God, regardless of how earnestly he prays. It is almost unsurprising, therefore, to find that the being who breaks down the Church's doors would appear to be an Angel by the Good Book's description. When the Angel first breaks in, they are a giant with marble flesh and six enormous wings that are neither bird nor bat but pure light energy all covered in eyes. But as they approach, with every step they shrink and transform into a shape of what could have almost been a man, but for his spear that remains giant and pulsing with a strange light. He is fair of face with a nimbus that makes his hair look so blonde as to be of spun gold, with only seven eyes, still of the most unnatural transpiercing blue, now only upon his face.

"I tell you and I tell you true- the man you seek is here," And following the aliferous being from where they had ripped through the wood of the door like mere fabric, is a being that is demonic in every way that his companion is angelic. Dark hair, dark eyes, dark horns, dark clothing, even his nails are black. Yet somehow his more human nature is less intimidating than the Angel's, perhaps because rather than a threatening spear he only bears a crown. "The most righteous man in town," the Angel declares with a flick of his wing that sends the cask Brian is hiding behind tumbling. It crashes upon the hard floor and breaks, spewing its red wine onto the floor. 

Brian can do nothing but watch as the wine spreads, puddling at his feet and soaking into his clogs. He doesn’t move, terrified and quaking where he's crouched between the beings and the children, not daring to lift his eyes above the faux-men's collarbones. This whole day has been one terror after another and he can not process it, any of it. The demon steps forward until he's right in front of Brian. He curls a hand around Brian's jaw and lifts up his face. Brian allows himself to be moved without resisting and dares to look up. The demon’s face looks far more human than the multi-eyed Angel, so that under other circumstances he would have been handsome, extremely so, with sharp features and piercing eyes. "This pretty little Godling has offered you to me because I said there were none that were pure of heart, and so here's what's going to happen: I'm going to drag you down there, and you are going to prove to be just as corrupt and as tainted as anyone else."

"But," the Angel intercedes, staring Brian down as though the Angel is willing this to be true. Even as the demon continues to grip his jaw and command his attention, Brian flicks a look at the Angel. It's hard to read his expression for how brightly his halo obscures his features. "When he is proven to be pure of heart, you will return him unharmed to these mortal plains and there shall be no blood spilt this day."

"I promise to leave all the murder and torment to your lot," the demon agrees readily enough. 

And with that, their terms seemingly set, the demon grabs Brian by the bicep and hauls him away, his feet skidding through the puddle of wine. "W-Wait!" He shouts out. A thousand and one questions crowd at the tip of his tongue. He hesitates as he can't help but notice the terrible scars gouged out of the demon's back, where wings once might have been anchored, but Brian realizes he must be careful in what he asks. He is indeed nothing but a lowly mortal, that does not have the strength to fight back, let alone question the divine and yet- "How do I know you're telling the truth? That you will not break your word?" He does not dare demand for his freedom after the atrocities he has witnessed this day from these beings that are beyond mere mortals.

The demon smiles rather coyly as the Angel answers, "He cannot. Devils are powered by grace all the same and so his word is his bond. I have overseen it."

"He's gambled with the fate of your immortal soul to stop the bloodshed," the devil croons sickly-sweet in his ear. "Which means you are coming with me regardless."

Brian gulps, he feels beyond terrified, the fear as shards of ice within his bones, and yet- And yet for the prosperity and wellbeing of the others, how can he not do everything in his power to save them? With as much courage as he can muster, he straightens in the devil's grip, refusing to be dragged any further when he can walk of his own volition, to which the being responds with naught but a wicked smile.

With every step they take leaving the Church and the Angel behind, he does not dare to look back even once. He tries his best to hide any signs of fear. Where the door of the Church once stood massive and ornate, the Angel had torn it apart like nothing more than wet paper. It is not only his soul but also the fate of his very body that this creature can threaten. Sound pours through the gaping ruin and it is a terrible, ceaseless wailing that drones on and on, and behind it Brian can see the city he has known all of his life overcome with atrocity. It is not just the unearthly that fight out there, in the chaos men too become pillagers, rapists and murders. 

When Brian had first heard the warning bells chime, he had had no idea; no idea that dark forces had come effortlessly over the city’s stone walls and laid waste to his people. Everywhere Brian had looked, there had been bloodshed, animals, people, all slaughtered. He had done his best to run away but now that he knows the invasion is preternatural he realises there is no escape and that there never was. The fires that had broken out now rage untended, illuminating the skyline and bathing the skies in orange and red. 

Yet they do not walk into the living nightmare in front of them. Only a single step off of the Church's ground, the earth crumbles to form a Stygian sinkhole. The devil does not waver, does not flinch, as they are consumed by the abyss. Brian can't help but brace for impact as they fall and blackness overwhelms his senses. 

Only once he feels firm ground beneath his feet does he open his eyes. The sight is selcouth and turgid as one might imagine being built for beings beyond mortal comprehension. However unlike the mortal world he has just left, it is quiet and orderly, although he is sure its terrible deeds hide out of sight. He does not have long to gawk before the devil is marching him along. "Come along my dear, I shall show you where you are going to be staying." 

They must have appeared at a dedicated entrance for they have far to walk before reaching their destination. They arrive before two large golden doors with ring-pulls the size of his head. He can hear something faintly on its other side but he’s more distracted by a smell he can’t identify. The devil opens them to reveal- Brian is not surprised that the tempting of his soul has already begun. He can do nothing but stand there in shock from the sheer stimulus.

The room itself, much like the rest of this place, is made of the richest of mortal wealth. Golden floors, mosaics on the walls made from priceless gemstones the size of quail eggs and all encircled with a river of wine that smells unspeakably enticing. But that is not what is stirring him so- The room is completely empty save for an enormous bed in the center where naked, writhing bodies are clearly engaged in lustful passions. Loudly. 

He takes a step back but the devil holds him tightly, forcing him to turn in order to look away, but nothing blocks the sound of moaning. "Now, now darling, it's just a bit of fun. And anyway it shouldn't be a problem for you, now should it? You are, after all, pure of heart."

Brian clenches his jaw before steeling himself with a deep breath. Although he feels his will rage against the bars of his self-restraint he knows that neither the strength of his anger nor body can save him here. His only hope is equanimity if he is to save his fellow countryman. "I will not be tempted by this, by any of this." It's- Brian tries to anchor himself in how excessive it is. His father has struggled for what little they have and here a single jewel from this wall could set his whole family up for years. He's never kissed a woman, and now- It's so explicit, his blood rushes and his body stirs. He can feel the terrible temptation encroaching like darkness over his soul. 

The devil must sense this weakness in him for he curls his mortal-like body flush against him. "While this form is Frederick, I do have another one." And the devil melts like molten silver into an equally striking female form, with the same sharp cheekbones and dark eyes. She too is gorgeous. "Do you like it? I’ve named her Melina." 

He looks away, hoping for somewhere safe to direct his attention and ends up looking at his clogs. The normally finely-tended white leather is scuffed from his earlier run to the Church and stained and distorted from the wine. Brian can feel the more ample curves of Melina's body pressing into him, warm and soft, but he just focuses on his clogs; he really liked this pair and now they are probably unsalvageable. 

The devil continues to tempt him with anything and everything imaginable. They flick effortlessly between their two forms, using Frederick to intimidate with threats of pain and suffering, while they use Melina to seduce and tempt. While Brian understands how this could work, the truth is that Brian finds Melina more calculating and manipulative which makes her far scarier than Frederick, a form that is more open about their intentions. For the sake of whatever little sanity he can hold on to, he decides it's easier to have only one name for the devil. He chooses Mercury for the way they appear like quicksilver when transitioning. 

Frederick speaks of tortures that Brian has never heard of but are sure to fill his nightmares. He even brings Brian to see the torture of other mortal souls. It is difficult to watch, and he can’t stop the tears that well in his eyes, but he does not say anything. He bites his tongue, trying to thankful that his nature is not to anger, for while the sorrow and sadness that his sympathy brings him are devastating even if they do not corrupt his soul. Brian can only cling to the belief that these souls have come here through their sins and he is fighting to protect the lives and the immortal souls of those that can still be salvaged. Not to mention that his feeble protests are sure to fall on deaf ears. What good would it be to rage against the devil’s nature?

And yet… is it Mercury’s nature or could it be a choice? He has seen the scars on Mercury’s back and heard what the Angel said, that devils are powered by grace *all the same.* Then it must be true what is said, that devils were once Angels that have chosen to fall. And in their fall from the heavens, their wings burned, leaving nasty scars as a consequence of their actions. 

Brian dares not ask but his inquisitive mind can not help but to notice or to consider. Mercury can speak of the inevitable sinful nature of man, and after all he has seen and experienced a part of Brian can believe it, but then he just looks at the scars. Grace might make their word their bond, but what truths does Mercury believe to make him choose to fall?

Yet for all that Frederick should be evil and speaks of pain, torture, and suffering he does not harm Brian in any way. Brian has never coveted things like gold or gems; his only interest in them was the value they could provide for his family and their wellbeing. Gold cannot keep you warm at night, nor can it keep your belly full, but it can buy what will. This is why he finds it rather easy to turn away from them; they only have the value mortals give them, and here he cannot sell them for bread or wood. 

The most tempting might well be Mercury themselves, or rather Frederick. Cruel and terrible to be certain but, also completely honest and clear in their intentions and their power, which is far more than any mortal woman has ever been with Brian. Moreover, it is unavoidable that Frederick, with the notable exception of the Angel's form, is the most gorgeous being he has ever seen. It's not just the face which is so breathtaking but his whole body with its captivating numinous quality. 

There is no sun in this place to count the passing of the hours as Brian does his best to remain unmoved, he doesn't even know for how long he shall be tested, which only compounds the feeling that time is stretching out before him and this cruel torture will be never-ending. It must at least be the time of supper for he grows hungry and Mercury offers him the most succulent of foods. 

The richest of wines, the same delectable aroma from the bedroom, which makes his mouth water as he can perfectly imagine how smooth it will go down. The ripest, fattest of fruits of which Brian can tell just by looking at them how deliciously sweet they will taste. Everything the best in every way, sauce that is heavy and thick, vegetables that look crisp and yet slathered in butter, bread that looks pale and airy. Fortunately much like with the riches, there is something anchoring Brian and his soul away from such temptation. 

Brian does not eat meat and hasn't for many years, it's an oddity where he's from, but not unheard of. Aside from being at times unable to find food at fetes or at food carts, the biggest impact was only the teasing from others who thought it unusual or unmanly. But he doesn't need their approval, all that matters is that he is doing what he thinks is most right , what will cause the least harm and suffering. 

At the center of most of these dishes is steaming meat with fatty juices running out the sides. The smell and the sight could be appetizing to many, but not to him, in fact, it's rather revolting. He's seen how humans raise and butcher their animals, he can only imagine how demons in Hell do it. 

“Come my dear, serve yourself, you must be hungry by now,” Melina tries to entice him. He can feel himself start to salivate and his stomach churn. He grows hungry, like all mortals must. He tries to rationalize that it could be fine to eat from this feast, at least a little, for surely as it is with lust and greed it is only the excess that is sinful. Still if it already smells this good, the taste might make it even more difficult to stop once he starts. Yet sin is not all he fears, not just for the temptation of gluttony to corrupt his soul, but also of being trapped here. He fears that much like with Proserpina, if he were to take even just a bite, swallow a single seed, he would be trapped forever in this place, far from the sun, and so does not dare. The risk is far too daunting, he can go a day without though it hollows at his insides.  
Brian's immortal soul and the fate of his entire town rest on his choices and so he chooses to be overly cautious. So he sits before the feast and stares down a whole peacock as it oozes its fats upon its golden serving platter and refuses to look away to any appetizing food that might tempt him. 

Brian doesn’t know for how long his will is tested as he stares down the fowl but eventually Mercury realises that Brian will not be tempted, not in this way, not at this time. And so they leave, back through the maze like corridors unaware of what might await him. A different banquet? Perhaps one with participants gorging themselves on the feast. Or the succulent kitchen where such delicacies are made? But maybe it will be nothing like what they have just left. Maybe it will be more tortured and tormented souls; horror or delight, Brian must be braced for it all. 

Yet they go somewhere Brian knows, again that large ornate door that had been their first stop. Brian is starting to suspect it is in fact Mercury’s room. The bedroom is again filled with carnal pleasure. Brian recoils from not just the sight but the noises. He turns to Mercury that watches his face carefully, perhaps hoping to see a chink in the armour. The mortal looks the devil straight in the eyes and speaks with as much authority as he can manage, “There is something I need, something I crave as a mortal man in a mortal body, but it is not food nor drink nor treasure, nor flesh.”

And it is the truth. Brian has seen his town folk slaughtered, and feared that he or his charges would be next. He has seen all nature of numinous things this day and they have left him weary. Even- Even his favorite pair of clogs are ruined. So now all he truly wants to do is sleep. Part of him worries, that that is the trap. That next it will be sloth to tempt him. 

He continues to stare Mercury down, trying to appear unflinching. Mercury does not seem… displeased with this steel that Brian is showing. Yet Mercury does not provoke him further, neither to envy or to wrath, perhaps the devil can see that it cannot be wrought from the mortal’s nature. Instead he is almost… accommodating as he clears the room. Once the room is empty of the nude bodies that brush against him on their way out, Brian hesitantly enters the room. With a snap of magic Mercury provides clean sheets, ironed even.

Brian looks back at this, surely it must be some trick but Mercury makes no sign of it. The devil closes the door, sealing the two of them in this room. “Is this-” Brian has held back all day his thousands of questions and retorts but this one seems so harmless he can’t stop himself, “Is this your bedroom?” 

Mercury makes no teasing remark, only lowering his eyes. “Yes. This part of Hell is my domain and so I am bound to this room. As I am in charge of your soul til you prove yourself, one way or another, I must watch over you and so we must stay together.” 

Brian is willing to believe this even as he feels great trepidation, surely something insidious is lurking. Still he approaches the bed, pulling back the covers. Should he wake to find some terrible temptation force upon him? He is so nervous can he hope that he will doze lightly if at all. He hesitates a moment looking down. His clogs have served him as anchors to sanity amongst this and he takes them off timorously. Yet they are just a symbol, and when he closes his eyes, he sees the scars on Mercury’s back and that will hopefully be enough. 

As fearful as he is, as soon as he rests upon the downy surface he is helpless against falling into immediate slumber. The bed is so comfortable, the surface so soft, the blankets so warm, truly beyond mortal pleasure and he fears that is sloth he will fight in the morning. 

His sleep is restless because something keeps waking him, but not a temptation. It is a noise. Brian blinks his eyes open slowly, only peering out a slit, for while he can feel that his body is untouched, he fears what he might see. But he sees nothing, nothing but Mercury sleeping peacefully at his side. Without his crown, if it was not for the horns, Brian would think him only a man, a gorgeous man, but no more than a mortal. 

The sound seems to be coming from outside of their room, it... it sounds like crying? Brian has seen suffering souls screaming in this place, so he is unsurprised to hear crying. He does his best to ignore it and go back to bed as he desperately longs for sleep. But no matter how he tosses or turns or shoves a pillow over his ears, he hears the crying and knows he will never be able to sleep like this. Must he only hope that it will eventually stop? And what are they even doing here? The torture dungeon is so far from Mercury’s bedchamber, unless somehow the noise has followed him here. 

Brian waits a moment more, maybe the sound will fade, maybe sleep will overcome him. But it does not and so slowly, as to not wake Mercury, he gets up from the bed. He looks down at where his scuffed and wine-stained clogs are waiting for him, he does not want to leave them behind and yet the noise they make would surely be too much. Or would it? If this noise is not loud enough to wake Mercury, would this? Brian knows he is being silly and yet still, he reaches down to grab hold of them, although does not slip them on as he creeps cautiously out of the bedchamber. He hesitates at the threshold. There could be waiting for him, something far more dangerous than temptation. Still the noise continues and so warily he opens the door. Brian was right. 

There curled up on the corridor’s floor crying is a demon. Uncontrollable sobs are racking their body as they wail with grief that sounds as real as any mortal’s. They’re tucked up with their knees up against their head, nothing but their brown hair and horns sticking out. Brian approaches them on socked feet. They look up at him with their tearful face and swollen eyes. Their expression is… beyond heartbreak, a defensive sorrow that longs for hope. It is as though they are both honored and offended to be approached. At first, Brian thought it a girl with long wavy hair but upon approaching he sees a man's face and body. Then again, like the origins of Mercury’s nickname remind him,that might mean nothing here, not for their kind. 

“I’d just like to-” Brian starts softly. He makes a gesture as though asking if he can sit down. The demon pulls their legs closer to their body but doesn’t answer, looking confused, like they do not speak his language. No one should be alone in their grief, not even demons. As Brian sits down right next to them, he sees the gouge marks on their back just like Mercury’s, not a demon then but another devil. He sighs, setting his clogs down in front of himself. 

Brian doesn't even know what he's going to say, only that he has to say something. Devil though they may well be, but clearly they are capable of emotions and suffering. Anything he might do to help, he must, and so he does. 

Everyone processes their grief differently and so Brian can only guess on what works best for him. His sadness is not terrible and sharp like grief, but rather the slow but unstoppable gloom, as though all the colors were being washed from the world, leaving only a monochrome of grey in its wake. And so Brian prefers to be distracted, with something different, something interesting, something to make him long to reconnect and re-engage in the world. That is why he opens his mouth and weaves a tale.

He isn’t considering one particular subject over another, only that he recounts an interesting story, with good suspense and strong emotions. He does not reach out to touch the devil, he does not look at them or address them, he merely coexists next to them as they grieve. 

When Brian’s tale comes to its end, he feels pleased with himself. The devil is no longer weeping, and they have in fact laughed when the story called for it. But what the mortal does not realise is that this monologue also means that the devil cannot speak without interrupting. And so they do not, as though devils are concerned with manners. Or perhaps it is because they wished for the illusion to continue on without being broken, for that is what they fear will happen when they speak.

“Hello,” greets the devil quietly, cautiously. 

“Hello, I’m Brian” Brian replies, are they not allowed to talk? 

“You can call me Deacy. Can you… Can you hear me then?”

Brian looks over to see the devil staring right back at them. “Yes? Yes Deacy, I can.” 

“And you can see me?” 

Again Brian confirms, “...Should I not?”

The devil looks like he can’t decide if he wants to smile or cry again. “No- No one has been able to in such a long time, I-” They clasp a hand over their mouth as tears once again well up, holding back their desperate gasps and sobbing. Brian wraps an arm around them and hugs them to his chest. How has this come to pass? Could it be that… that devils suffer as they make others suffer? Slowly but surely Deacy calms down. “There.. There was a battle a long time ago a- a really long time ago by length of a mortal lifetime. The Angels they, they were the ones to do this to me.” They look away and Brian can see the burden that has been on them, the hopelessness that has been crushing them, whittling them away until they were but a pale shade of themselves. “It- The curse, it made it so no one could see me, hear me,” Deacy clings tighter to his arms before hesitantly reaching out to return Brian’s comforting embrace. “Until today, until you.” 

Brian swallows. Is this… another test? And yet he doesn’t see how signs that Deacy is being anything but completely honest. Their pain sounds real and so Brian feels that he must act as though it is, he could not do otherwise, especially on a day where he already saw so much of it and be so powerless for all of it. Here at least, he might be able to do something. He thinks only to reduce the suffering in the world, anything that is in his power, he does not consider that this too could be a test, not of corruption, but of purity of heart. 

“Before- Before the battle, before the curse, I was someone. No one really of importance, I should have just been another face in the crowd but my love-” Deacy places a hand over his heart, clawing at the skin there as though desperate to rip out the offending organ. “I mattered to them, and they mattered so I was- I was just the weapon used to hurt them.” Their voice breaks on the last words. Brian can’t even imagine being used to hurt the person he loved the most, and hurt them in the most painful of ways. 

“It’s… been so long now, I think… they might have forgotten me. They are looking for new loves and who am I to begrudge them that, still I-” Again the tears come easily to their still red-rimmed eyes. “I don’t want to have to watch it, to see. That even as I try to fight against this curse, to somehow get free, get cured, I will have nowhere- no one to return to.” 

Brian does not know what to say to this, merely continues to provide physical comfort. He is a mere mortal, and not even a hero of old with strength or a sword. He is just him, a tired man that longs for sleep and must have his shoes with him lest he become what he is accused of and doom his whole township.

There is little real comfort Brian can offer but what he does best: love and care, unconditionally and open-heartedly, for as little as it might mean. Just his heart and feelings, hopefully as pure as his soul. He listens when Deacy talks, and when emotions clog the devil's throat and tears again soak his lashes, Brian speaks to calm him. It is more to fill the silence that anything. Anything really, more tales from his life, short but entertaining and that all end well, even songs. Ballads, lullabies, anything. 

Hours pass in this sunless place and the day dawns in this new reality, one where true and pure mortal love is known. Mercury is unaware of this change and what it has wrought, as Frederick he steps out the room only to see where his little mortal charge has scampered off to. Yet as soon as he steps out his eyes clearly land on Deacy. Mercury screams, launching himself at Deacy.

Brian can do nothing but flinch back in recoil but it's not an attack, it's an embrace. They are both hugging, passionately. And crying, hysterically. "My love, my love, you've come back to me."

"So I am still your love?" Deacy asks in a small hesitant voice, Brian shouldn't be here for this.

"The sun would freeze and the heavens would burn before you were ever to become not my love," Mercury assures.

"I-I have come back to you?"

"I am so happy to see it, but long have I imagined that you were always there, just out of reach but never truly gone."

"I do not know how I have come back, or if it might take me again, the Angels they-"

Mercury hushes him with a finger to his lips. "My darling, I have brought you back. Well- I say 'I' but Brian here." And again Mercury looks at Brian, with that look like he is really seeing the mortal and not just condescending to him. "I suspected an Angels curse to be responsible. And for that there is only one cure: a righteous and pure heart that loves."

Brian feels... touched as he looks upon the tableau. Deacy and Mercury love each other, held in each other's embrace as the latter tenderly cups the former's face. He does not regret his actions if it has allowed for such true happiness as he sees in the lovers. Although maybe he should for he has gone against the will of the Angels. Yet how can love be anything but right? It seems just as genuine as any mortal love Brian has seen. No, he cannot bring himself to regret it, even if he did it unknowingly. 

"There are no pure souls in this realm," Deacy states between soft kisses and longing looks. 

"No, no there are not. I had to scour the world above for one. Many souls I have brought down here-"

"I thought you were replacing me."

"No never," Mercury assures as he kisses them again. 

"I would-" Wail and sob, loudly and uncontrollably, "cry at your door, when I would see them, I hoped that somehow my presence would get through to you, it always seemed to work because I would never see them again."

"They could not hear you because they were not pure enough of heart, that's also why you didn't see them again." Pure enough to help even a 'sinful' devil. "I could not find one, no matter how hard I looked or how many souls I brought down here, I despaired that no such thing existed but then- I asked Roger for one."

"Roger... gave you a soul?"

Freddie slightly shakes his head, "I might have taken a few hundred souls hostage to make it happen." At that Deacy almost laughs, but that means all those souls are fine and will be returned. For a prince of Hell, this seems the smallest price for the Angels to pay if they have taken his great love. "And so Roger delivered to me Brian. He was pure enough that the sound of you was enough to wake him up." Wake him up? It was louder than that even, it was enough that he had no hopes of going back to sleep. Mercury looked at Brian, "And now I will be as good as my word and I will right what has been wronged," he looks at Deacy, whom he still holds tightly, "another thing that has been wronged." Freddie tilts his head, almost bowing to Brian. “You have saved him, and so you have saved your people.”

**Author's Note:**

> This was for a writing submission for 'princess and the pea' and 'celestial realms' which is why im so extra in my vocabulary.
> 
> Beta'd by: [Maya](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mayamaia/pseuds/mayamaia) and [Lily](https://archiveofourown.org/users/waterlilyinclearwater) (yes it takes two people for my foolishness)


End file.
